Share an Internet Connection


If one Mac is connected directly to the Internet, either by modem or by any other type of connection, it can share its Internet connection across a network to other Macs. To do this, you need to set up both the server, the Mac sharing the connection, and the clients—that is, the other Macs using that shared connection.

First, on the server, open the System Preferences and click the Sharing icon. Click the Internet tab. This tab, shown in Figure 12-8, is where you turn on Internet Sharing. Like most networking configuration on the Mac, this is done with just a couple of clicks.

click to expand
Figure 12-8: To turn on Internet Sharing, select the network interface in the list by clicking its check box, and then click the Start button on the Internet tab.

Select the network interface you want to use from the Share Your Connection From pop-up menu. You’ll probably have Built-in Ethernet and Internal Modem, and if you have an AirPort card it will be listed here as well.

Next, check the network interfaces you want to share over: check the boxes next to the interfaces listed in the To Computers Using list. Finally, click the Start button.

Caution

Sharing an Internet connection may violate the terms of your service agreement with your Internet service provider. You’ll see an alert regarding this if you check Built-in Ethernet. While in practice this shouldn’t be a problem, make sure you aren’t in violation of these terms. Since sharing connections is increasingly common, this is unlikely, but if you’re not sure, check with your ISP.

To share your Internet connection, your client computers—the other computers sharing your connection—must be configured to use DHCP as explained earlier in this chapter. Once you set this up, all your computers can share one connection. Be aware that sharing a modem connection splits very limited bandwidth among several computers; Internet sharing is only practical if you have a broadband connection, such as DSL or cable.

By the way, if you have Windows computers on your network, they can share your Internet connection as well. Just configure them to use DCHP, and they’ll get their IP addresses automatically from the Mac that’s sharing the connection.




How to Do Everything with Mac OS X Panther
How to Do Everything with Mac OS X Panther
ISBN: 007225355X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 171

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